Martyrs for Christ: Episode 1 - Stephen

The Bible has thousands of prophecies, and we often think of those as having been made in the past, and only some of them being fulfilled so far. But some were fulfilled very soon, and also written about. Some actually took very little time to come to fruition, such as one made by Jesus himself. Not only did he predict his own death and resurrection, he made statements about what it would be like to follow him, and it took very little time at all for this to reveal just how true his words actually were.

No prediction of Jesus was more “strikingly fulfilled” than that of persecution and sufferings- of his people.

He blessed them ahead of time, for being willing to be identified as his followers.

Jesus made the disciples aware ahead of time, to prepare them

He encouraged them, “don’t be disheartened”

He promised to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to be with his people.

So, this peaceable faith, to live well with others, was hated. 

His doctrines setup the only True God as the single one who is adorable, through his son Jesus.

This garnered the wrath and rage of both heathens and Jews alike, even before he was crucified.

There was a small break from the persecution, beginning the day after he was crucified.

But this would not last long, since 50 days later, which is called the Pentecost- literally meaning 50 days- his apostles gathered together in worship.

We see the beginning of the gospel being spread on that day, when his apostles began speaking with a newfound boldness. That one day we now call the Pentecost, changed the world, by launching what would later be called the Way, then the Church.

The first person apparently killed for his faith in Jesus was Stephen of the Bible, who was one of the 70 disciples of Jesus.

Disciples were followers of Jesus, but this included much more than the 12 who were the closest with him. Stephen, known for his zeal and his faith, was chosen, along with 6 others, as deacons in the Church of Jerusalem.

Looking back, we might not find it surprising that Stephen would suffer a similar fate as Jesus, but at the time, it must have been shocking.

When the religious leaders attacked Jesus’ claims and beliefs, trying to destroy the Church, which was now enjoying incredible growth, and amassing numbers daily, Stephen was strong as steel. They could not reason against him, and their hatred grew even more intense.

The only way they could conquer Stephen, and therefore maybe the Church, was to bring up false accusations against him, echoing the same tone as they used to kill his Savior. They accused him of the same ultimate crime, blasphemy. 

So it turns out, when we step back and look at what happened, Jesus’ life, death and resurrection was exactly what Stephen and the other apostles needed. It was so fresh in their minds, still grieving for Jesus, and also celebrating his resurrection. 

Also, on that day of Pentecost, imagine the raw power of the moment, as Holy Spirit fell upon an entire gathering of his people. Undeniable power was at work, and tangibly demonstrating God’s undeniable blessing of his followers. This power could not be ignored, but it meant one of two paths:

One path would be to acknowledge that these followers latched onto something uncontainable and true, that could only come from the Creator himself. This path implies we should submit ourselves to this unshakable reality.

The other path, though, is not to believe what has been proven beyond doubt. This dark path leaves only one option- destroy the messengers so the message dies with them.

These are the same two paths before mankind, since Adam and Eve faced the choice of the fruit. But the more God demonstrates his nature, the more that disbelief reveals its own true nature. 

You see, some people who do not follow the truth do not know it. But, there are others who do know, and they fight it, because they will not allow their will to submit to that which is greater than themselves. They come up with many reasons, but this is at the heart of it. Truth is greater than our preferences, and that brings us either to stubbornness or to submission.

Now, when we talk about submission, we can sound like bigots, right? After all, who is anyone to think they can tell others to follow them or their beliefs? Well, we see religion become very bigoted, whether we speak of Christianity or any other religion. This will always be the case, because religion draws tyrannical dictators who leverage rules to enforce their will and enslave others.

But Christianity does not preach domination. It is the Lord who judges everyone. His people point the way to the truth, but we do not enforce obedience through laws. We do, however, say that some things are more Godly and other ways are ungodly. And, unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, that is all it takes to evoke wrath and anger from people.

Back to Stephen, when the council brought their unjust accusations against this innocent man, it appeared he was stuck. But God is not a God of dilemmas. Stephen was about to find strength that did not come from within. 

Just as they were about to pass their death sentence onto him, Stephen saw a vision. He saw Jesus in his glorified state. 

In Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, it says this:

He exclaimed in rapture, " Behold I see the heavens open, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God." Still more enraged at this, they immediately passed sentence upon him, and dragged him out and stoned him to death. He died like his divine Master, imploring mercy for his murderers ; saying, " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." On the place where he was martyred, the Empress Eudocia afterward caused a magnificent church to be erected to his memory. Being put to death, on the 26th day of December, it is consequently observed in commemoration of this event.

When you face trials, whether of persecution, of your own failures or internal fears, where do you turn? 

Maybe it’s time we bring our faith to a new level, having the zeal that Stephen had. He didn’t just acknowledge that Jesus was a good man, with good teachings, and so tried to live a good life. No.

Stephen, along with many others, had a faith that we don’t see around us much, if at all. It’s the kind of faith that won’t make the headlines, because it’s greater than the kind of greatness the world will celebrate. It leads us to a path that is narrow, where few others walk. Not because they can’t, but because this is a fallen world. Don’t look all around you for examples to follow, because you might not find them. Be the example. If God has already placed the desire on your heart to follow him, you can no longer be content by any other path. It is how you have been created.

The world will find any argument to bring you down, to make you feel crazy, delusional. Let the world be wrong, and Lord be right. We do have examples, we have many. I want to keep bringing you examples of great faith, and yes, this often means great persecution. Because we don’t find true peace by anything this world offers. So we must look beyond the world’s empty, hollow promises. They will tell us our efforts are futile, they’ll say you’re just overly religious. 

They won’t bother saying you’re blasphemous, like they did with Jesus and Stephen, in so many words. Because now, we are told to follow whoever the current “leaders” are. They don’t even believe in God, so instead of calling you a blasphemer, they will say you’ve broken their own laws, which is today’s “unpardonable sin” in their eyes. 

When they say these things, look to heaven. Jesus, even on the cross, chose when to die. He released his spirit after praying for the Father to forgive his persecutors and then saying “It is finished”. Stephen saw heaven unfold before him, and also prayed similarly for his persecutors. Why? Because they saw past the veil of this physical world, into the reality before all of us. We live here shortly, then we pass beyond the veil. The things here are on a lower order than that which will come.

So don’t be distraught, don’t live in torment. This world cannot do anything to prevent our stepping into the part of eternity God has waiting for us. Look past the veil into heaven, daily, even moment by moment. Invite the companionship of the Holy Spirit to dwell within you, which no man can take away from you. If we do anything other than this, then the conflict and torment of this world will become traumatic. But the more his healing presence consumes us, the less space is available for the needless suffering. Turn your suffering toward serving him, because he alone holds true healing. This is how we become zealous like Stephen, by relentlessly and unswervingly committing to this narrow path. It wasn’t just because Stephen had great faith. He applied his attention and energy fully toward that which built his faith, that is why he grew in strength. Look past the veil, and await the moment in which we will step into eternity, and let the cares and traumas of this world fade in comparison to the richness and glory of God’s presence, not just after this life, but in every moment between now and that precious time.